“Won’t I be in the way? When you do the … drop?” She had no idea what that would entail.
“Not if you stay put and keep quiet, no.” He slid his hands to her ass cheeks and squeezed. “What do you think? You up for it?”
She smiled. “The Hollywood sign, how can I say no?” Truth was the sign wasn’t the thing she wanted, what she wanted was to be with Jayden. And a day out, the wind on her face, the bike taking them wherever they wanted to go, was pretty much perfect.
“Mommy, the egg has cracked on my foot.”
“Egg! What is he up to?” She rolled her eyes. “I’d better check on him.”
After dropping Zak off at school and returning to the house, Tammy pulled her leather jacket on over aBorn to Ride Freet-shirt that had also been delivered in Brooklyn’s bag. She slipped into flat black boots that came halfway up her calf. When she looked in the mirror, her legs for once looked good. The California sunshine had given them a glow and the short denim skirt, not tight, layered and swishy, suited them.
She went a bit closer to the mirror. A mauve, oval-shaped bruise marked her neck. She stroked over it, remembering Jayden kissing her, sucking her there the night before.
Despite herself, she felt a small thrill. He’d staked his claim. Her. And she wanted to be his. But still, she’d worn a scarf to the school that morning.
“You ready?” Jayden called from the living room.
“Yes, coming.” She scooped up Bilbo, and after dashinginto Zak’s room to prop the stuffed toy on the pillow, ready for when Zak came home from school, she went into the living room.
“Hey, I like your style.” Jayden let his gaze slide from her face to her feet and back up again. “Got a great pair of pins on you.”
She laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should.” Beneath his arm, he held the brown box, taped up. “Come on. Grab your helmet and let’s go.”
Once outside, he stowed the box securely and pulled on his own helmet.
A fizz of excitement went through Tammy as he brought the machine to life. The roar vibrating between the houses seemed to go right to her heart.
With her arms around his waist, they pulled out onto The Strand. The fear of the night before, the darkness, the bumps and bangs, felt like a million miles away. Now the sun shone on beach-worshippers, dog walkers, and a group of youths playing volleyball. Out at sea, surfers rode the waves, and a yacht billowed on the horizon.
Jayden took a right turn out of the driveway, and after crawling along past Sarah’s house, and then around the corner and the boundary of the school, he sped up and joined the route north.
Tammy loved it. The speed, the feel of Jayden’s leathers against hers, the glances they got from other motorists. She felt safe, alive … seen.
And for so long, she’d been hiding. Hiding from Gary’s temper, his paranoia, his control. But she’d done it. She’d escaped. Not only that, but she’d also fallen in love with a man she knew would never do anything to hurt her.
Last night was amazing.
She’d never had sex like it. Jayden had literally handedhis body over to her, and she’d taken it, happily. Directing them both to toe-curling orgasms. In the past, she wouldn’t have done that, or had the confidence to. But Jayden made her feel sexy, beautiful, and worthy of pleasure.
She squeezed him tighter, her heart filling with the love she felt for him, and thanked God for the new path He’d chosen for her.
Despite the heavy traffic, they made good progress. The bike slid between semis and cars, and before long, Jayden took the exit toward downtown LA.
Concrete dominated, ugly buildings baked by the sun. There were no palm trees or bikini-clad beauties here.
As they waited at a stop sign, a garbage bag on the curbside moved disturbingly, as if something was wriggling around inside of it. Rats?
Jayden headed deeper into the city, the bike’s low growl seeming to show its displeasure about the neighborhood. Passing a row of makeshift homes—tents in various states of repair—she sent another thanks to God that she and Zak hadn’t ended up in a place like this when she’d fled.
An old man pushed a full cart across the road at a diagonal, and Jayden slowed and then drove around him. For a moment, they were cast in shadow as they went through a tunnel beneath rail tracks.Welcome to Skid Row - the end of the earth and where hell begins, was written on the wall in bright green graffiti.
Her safe and contented state evaporated. This was not a place she wanted to hang around in. Every instinct, every section of her gut was telling her that.
“Is it much further?” she asked.
“No.”